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Do you live in a small community? Ever look for research or statistics on a rural topic? Could you use some leads on funding opportunities to support rural health and human services? The Rural Assistance Center (RAC) is a free resource that can help.

The Rural Assistance Center (RAC) is a federally-funded information resource with a range of products and services addressing rural health and human services issues. You can contact RAC for help meeting your customers information needs, you can refer library users directly to RAC, and you can use RAC yourself to support library projects. Here are a few resources available to you and your customers:

Funding Information

The RAC web site (http://www.raconline.org) has a searchable database of funding opportunities. Anyone who has a project in mind to benefit a rural community can request an in-depth search for funding specific to their project and location.

Guides on Rural Topics

The RAC web site has information guides on topics such as dental health, domestic violence, tribal health, and grant writing. Guides include frequently asked questions on the topic, links to publications and online tools, organizations and contacts for more information.

Research and statistics

Librarians staff the RAC toll-free phone (1-800-270-1898) and email reference service (info@raconline.org)and offer free search services to support rural health and human services. RAC can do literature searches, help find statistics, and connect users to experts within the federal government and research communities.

News and events

The RAC web site includes news on rural issues taken daily from the Federal Register, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services press releases, and other sources. The web site also provides a calendar of events, conferences, and workshops.

How to take advantage of RAC services:

• Visit the RAC web site at http://www.raconline.org


• Contact RAC at 1-800-270-1898 or info@raconline.org


• Sign up on the RAC web site for twice-monthly email notices of rural news, funding opportunities, events and publications

Please use the Rural Assistance Center yourself and help spread the word about RAC in your organization and your community.

Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce is a collaboration of agencies and organizations with a common goal of helping the public health workforce find and use information effectively to improve and protect the public's health.

Agencies and organizations participating in Partners include the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the American Public Health Association (APHA), the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH), the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM), the Public Health Foundation (PHF), and the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE)

A fact sheet that describes the Partners collaboration is available at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nno/partners.html. A brochure with information about the National Library of Medicine's resources that are particularly relevant to public health practice is also available at http://phpartners.org/pdf/information_card.pdf.

Strengthening and promoting this collaboration is a major goal of the NLM and NN/LM, and we need your assistance. Please help us share information about the Partners collaboration and PHpartners.org by considering the addition of a link from your library's site to PHpartners.org. PHpartners.org provides news of interest to public health workers and links to public health Internet resources. In addition, your suggestions for additional content and site improvement are most welcome. Suggestions can be provided via the online suggestion box at http://phpartners.org/suggest.html.